Sunday. One year ago today. Lynn and I boarded
a bus, a magical bus, you might say--but
it was no mystery where we were headed. Nope.
We were on route to a venue where we'd join
thousands of other like-minded individuals
gathered to listen to some silly love songs--and
what's wrong with THAT, I'd like to know??...

Yup, despite the both of us being devoted
fans of that evening's featured performer--and
his old band--ever since that cold February
night in '64 when Ed Sullivan introduced
them to an astonished America, it was the
first time ever that me and my honey would
be witnessing a live performance put on by
the so-called cute Beatle, the knighted one
himself, known to all the world these many
years as one of the greatest composers of
the twentieth century, yes, boys and girls,
the one, the only, still alive despite all
the rumors to the contrary, Macca, MISTER
PAUL McCARTNEY!!!! (Did I mention I was a
little bit excited at the prospect? Consider
it noted.)

Y'see, the local oldies station was offering
a package deal--transportation, dinner, and,
oh yeah, a little musical entertainment,
all for, well, all for a whole LOT. A pretty
pricey piece of change, I assure you, and
for any other event, you'd hear me screaming
rip-off from here to Kalamazoo, but after
all was said and done, we readily agreed
that it was worth every shekel shelled out--even
if the dinner was only so-so. It was a three
hour trip to Long Island's Nassau Coliseum
from our home base, so we started out at
2 in the afternoon, even though the concert
didn't begin until 8 that evening. Grandma
came over to stay with Julie, and soon enough
we were off on that long and winding road.

I'll spare you the blow-by-blow description--suffice
to say it was among the most memorable events
I've ever been lucky enough to participate
in. You people have probably picked up on
the fact that comics meant an inordinate
amount to me when I was growing up, right?
Well, if there's any one thing that trumps
my devotion to the funnybook form, it's my
life-long devotion to the four cheeky lads
from Liverpool!! Just call me the 565th Beatle
(I don't want to sound TOO presumptuous...)
Of course neither they nor their original
fans are young any more, as was readily apparent
from the looks of our bus riding companions.
Still, Paul himself was in remarkable shape
for his (then) 59 years, and, at nearly two
and a half hours, showed tremendous stamina
during his stunning performance. Amazingly,
that distinctive voice sounded virtually
unchanged from the one that played day in
and day out on my worn down copy of "Meet
the Beatles" during MY 11th year! Fact
is, the fourth number of the night, "All
My Loving" from that self-same album,
provided one of the most emotional moments
for me. Standing in front of a bank of video
monitors flashing those iconic black and
white images of the band debarking onto American
soil for the very first time as this timelessly
fresh and uplifting number was being sung
by it's composer with as much joy and panache
as when it was featured on that first Sullivan
show, well--it brought a broad smile to my
face and a happy tear to my eye, music lovers.
There he was. Paul. Singing those songs.
And there I was, listening. Amazing, simply
amazing.

While I'm by no means an inveterate concert-goer,
I've seen my share of biggies in my time.
The Stones, the Who, the Beach Boys. The
Eagles, the Go-Gos, the Pretenders. Smaller
names that had bigger reps with me personally--10cc,
Greg Kihn, the Roches, and Jonathan Richman
(twice). Nothing else even came close. Uh
uh. Not even the Ringo gig from two years
earlier (which we'll discuss more thoroughly
on May 15th--or, as we call it around here,
"Ringo Day") THIS was nirvana (although
it wasn't Nirvana, but you get what I'm saying...)
Music has the mysterious and marvelous ability
to extract tangible emotional responses from
me unlike anything else, and first and foremost
at the head of that melodic line-up is the
work of the Beatles, both after but especially
before they went their separate ways. Older
now, with less left to prove, Paul no longer
stints on the Fabs extensive catalog, sharing
a generous 23 selections drawn from the greatest
songbook in the history of rock with his
adoring audience. Add to this the very cream
of his solo material (... and "C Moon"),
and ladies and gents, you've got yourself
one heckuva concert!!

Of course, some of you may already be familiar
with the star-studded song-list if you've
grabbed up a copy of either the "Back
In The USA" CD or DVD, both released
late last year. While they certainly give
you an idea just how good our man Macca sounded,
they're both sadly lacking in several critical
elements. The CD, while maintaining all the
selections in their proper sequence, unwisely
eliminates all of Paul's between song banter.
Now, no one'll ever confuse Paul's stage
patter with the dramatic delivery of a Bruce
Springsteen (who I also saw, by the way)
(NOT to drop names, heh...), but this tour
featured more than his trademark "Wooos!!"
and "How you doing (fill in name of
city)?" shouts. There were some downright
cute--if rehearsed--stories included in his
act this time around. Most egregiously, the
official release eliminates his heart-felt
introduction's to "Here Today"
and "Something", Paul's moving
tributes to his two fallen mates, John and
George (not to mention his later dedication
of "My Love" to his late wife Linda)
Believe me, there wasn't a dry eye in the
house at this juncture in the show, and without
the verbal set-up, the songs seem somehow
hollow when piping out of the stereo speakers.
And the DVD? It's all over the place, sequence
be damned. What they SHOULD'VE done was just
record the concert as it was, and, well,
let it be! With a little luck, somebody DID!!

Lynn surprised the heck out've me with a
videotape of the very show we attended as
a gift for our wedding anniversary last June
that she scored off eBay!! While it certainly
wasn't the most professional of quality,
it was surprisingly well put together, apparently
filmed from several different angles and
then edited almost like a real piece of MPL
merchandise. However, when I tried duping
it off for a pal, it just looked horrible,
so maybe the bootleggers know something the
legit guys don't!?! (Sorry, Matt, but I tried...)
Once Lynn demonstrated what could be had
on eBay, it didn't take me long to locate
a bootleg audio recording of the April 21st
date, and after a few unsuccessful tries,
I finally managed to snare me a copy!! Ah,
the wonderful world of technology! The sound
ain't the best, but now I'll always have
that Japanese massage story at the ready
when I want to enjoy it again!!...

So, while it's the twenty-first day of the
fourth month for the rest of the world today,
round these here parts, it's Paul McCartney
Day. Gonna roll out the tapes, the CDS, the
DVDs, and relive one of the grandest days
of my half-century and just let the music
and good vibes wash over me. And come September
23rd, I'm gonna do it all AGAIN!! Oh, didn't
I mention? Once was not enough. Not nearly.
We unlocked the vault, cashed in some stocks,
snagged some tickets, drove ourselves to
Hartford Connecticut in a steady (but NOT
Driving) rain--Julie in tow this time, which
is a whole story in itself--and saw our SECOND
show on the latter leg of Macca's 2002 American
tour!?! Hey, it was well worth it--he did
four new songs!! AND he cut "C Moon"
from the set-list!! But, more about that
on Paul McCartney Day II come this September!

A quick paraphrase, folks: you never give
me your money, but I give me you my funny
papers!! DONATE to the site, friends, because who knows,
I may just want to hop aboard the Concord
and take in a show on Paul's current European
sweep!! And I repeat, what's wrong with THAT,
I'd like to know???...